Concrete-block mold.



i UNITED'- STATES Patented June '7, 1904,

l PATENT OFFICE.

CONCRETE-BLOCK MOLD.

' SPECIFICATION forming pm of Letters Patent No. 761,727, dated'June' 7, 1904.

y n Application filed November 11, 1903. Serial No. 186,643. (No model.`

Trb-'darli Ich/om,l it may concern..-

it known that I', GEORGE S. TIFrANna -citl'ien of the United States` residing at Tecumseh, in thecounty of Lenawee, State of Mlchigan, have lnvented certain new and useul Improvements in Concrete-Block Molds;

andrI do. declare the following to be a full, clear,- and exact description of the invention,

-such as will enable others skilled in the art to'which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had. to the accompanying drawings, and to the igures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

.This invention relates to a mold for forming concrete blocks for building purposes;

' and it consistsin the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully set forth,

. and pointed out particularly in the claims.

-The object of the invention is 'to, provide a simple, durablefandeiiicient sectional moid which may be readily opened to allow of the removal of the formed block'and which may be quickly and securely closed for the forming of a succeeding block, the. arrangement being such asto effect a simultaneous movement of' the ends and side and to cause said parts to stand when open in a' position to facilitate. cleaning. y The above object is attained by the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which1- 'Figure 1 is a' perspective view of a mold embodying my invention. Fig. 2 lis a front elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective Fig. 4 .is a transview of the moldfopen. verse section through the mold.

ReferringA to the characters of reference, 1

designates the base-pieces, which are preferv ably in the form of L-shaped castings, each having a vertical portion 2, to which the back side or'plate 3 of the mold is secured. Hinged at 4 to fthe top of the back is a hopper 5,

through which the concrete or plastic mixture is introduced into the mold.

Formed upon the back plate 3, at each end thereof, are the ears 6, which ser-ve as hinge 'members in 'conjunction with the ears- 7 of the ends 8, said hinge members at-each end ofl the mold being joined 'by the vertical shafts 9,'which pass therethrough and which-form the pintle of the hinge upon which the ends swing. Upon the lower end of each of the' shafts 9 is a beveled gear 10, which meshes with. a likel gear 11, fixed to the shaft'12, which passes through and isjournaled in the L-shaped base-pieces 1. Fixed to the shaft 12 is zin-operative lever 13, by means of which the shaft may be rocked to turn the gears and swing the ends 8, which are made fast to 'is provided with the depending arms 19, which are loosely mounted upon the shaft 17, and formed integral with the hub of the crank 16 is an arm 20, which is bolted at 21 to the side 18. By this larrangement the rocking-of the shaft 12in a direction tocause the ends 8 to swing outwardly upon their hinges will also l actuate the front 18 to swing it outwardly to the-position shown in Fig. 3, whereby the ends and side are caused to simultaneously open outwardly, so as to allow of the removal of the formed blockfrom the mold.

`Pivoted at 22110 the front of the mold is a locking-bar 23the opposite ends of which are adapted to work' as a latch behind the shoulders 24, formed upon the projections 25 of the ends, and serve to lock the ends and sides together while the mold is being flled,'said bar having a handle 26 at each end for operating it.,l

inthe voperation of this device'vthe mold is closed and the concrete is shoveled into it through the hopper and tamped, so as to cause 'it to perfectly iill the mold, after vwhich the hopper is swung backwardly and the concrete struck off in the ordinarylmann'er. The locking-bar is then moved upon its pivot, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2,'to-release the ends andv side, after which the shaft 12 is rocked -by means ofthelever 13 to swing the ends and side outwardly, when the formed block may be removed from the mold in any suitable manner and the mold againclosed. fora suc- IO ceeding operation. The bottom plate 27 of the mold is made removable to facilitate the removal of the formed block, being supported upon the L-shaped castings l. Should it be desired to give some ornamentation to the face of the block, said plate may be provided with the depression 2.8 or other desired configuration. In like manner the end of the block may be ornamented by providing one of the ends of the mold with a removable marginal plate 29.

It will be evident that by means of this arrangement the movable parts of the mold may be securely locked in position While the block is being formed and quickly and simultaneously opened and closed by the operation of the shaft 12, leaving all of the parts of the mold when open in a position to allow them to be readily cleaned.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a mold for concrete blocks, the combination of the fixed side, the ends hinged thereto, the movable front, and means for simultaneously actuating the ends and the front to open and close the mold.

2. In a machine for the purpose set forth, the combination of the fixed side, the hinged ends, a hinged front, a transverse shaft, gearingconnecting said shaft with the hinged ends, and means connecting the hinged front with said shaft to cause the front to open and close simultaneously with the ends when the shaft is actuated.

3. Ina mold for concrete blocks, the combination with the immovable side, the hinged ends, vertical shafts carrying said ends and gearing upon each of said shafts, a horizontal shaft having gears which mesh with the gears of the vertical shafts, a counter-shaft to which :l

the front is hinged, a crank upon said shaft, and means connecting said crank with the main shaft to cause the front to more simultaneously with the ends as said shaft is actuated.

et. In a mold for concrete blocks, the combination of the back, the hinged ends and front, means connecting said parts to cause them to move simultaneously, a locking-bar pivoted to the front, engaging shoulders upon the ends adapted to receive said bar, whereby the mold may be locked in the closed position.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE S. '.llFFANY. .itnesses:

iV. J. INGnRsoLL, M. SMITH. 

